


Kindred Spirits

by myscribblings



Series: Vaylin Related One-Shots [6]
Category: Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Force Ghost Vaylin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-12
Updated: 2018-04-12
Packaged: 2019-04-21 22:11:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14294550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myscribblings/pseuds/myscribblings
Summary: Mara Jade has been injured in battle, and drifts in and out of consciousness. An ancient spirit appears to her. Takes place at the end ofDark Force Rising,by Timothy Zahn.





	Kindred Spirits

**Author's Note:**

  * For [commanderfett](https://archiveofourown.org/users/commanderfett/gifts).



The dreams had returned, and with them, the feelings, the knowledge she could not explain. It made people fear her, hate her. How she despised those visions, but she had no control. She would just have to persevere.

She was drifting in and out of consciousness. She knew she was concussed, and most likely running out of air. She would die soon, her final failure complete.

This dream, unlike the others, seemed familiar. Children playing, laughing. Then, the laughter changed, becoming something terrible. It was followed by screams. The laughter was always followed by screams. And the voice, at the edge of hearing, trying to pull her to it. That maddening, taunting voice.

Her eyes flickered open, and she saw her rescuers. It wasn’t him, but she knew he was responsible. Skywalker. How she hated him. How he would come to regret this.

Laughter, again. It was not the same broken sound, not quite, but it was the same voice she had heard before. She could not help but remember the screams.

“By the tears of my mother, you are a stubborn one, aren’t you?” said the voice.  
In the darkness, yellow, glowing eyes, thoroughly corrupted by the Dark Side. She could feel the anger in them, and pain, and sadness. Also, age, a feeling that those eyes had seen many years pass. More unasked for knowledge.

“What? Who are you?” Mara asked.

She formed out of the darkness, a woman in a dark green-brown robe with gold trim. Pale skin, light brown hair hanging to her shoulders. Unusual adornments on her forehead, like nothing Mara had ever seen. A sardonic expression Mara thought was probably a permanent feature, much like her own. The woman tilted her head. “A name? You want a name? I don’t think I can recall it, and I doubt you’d recognize it if I told you.”

“Fine. What do you want?”

Laughter again. “Nothing you can give back. But perhaps you can answer a question. Why do you hate him?”

Mara blinked. At least, it felt that way. She was becoming more and more sure that she was not conscious. “Who?”

Smiling viciously, the vision said, “Oh, you know who.”

“Skywalker?”

“Is that his name?”

Gritting her teeth as his face swam into her vision, Mara said, “Yes. I hate no one more. He took everything from me. Position. Purpose. My Emperor.”

She was cut off before she could finish her grievances. “Your Emperor? Your purpose? Your purpose was to be a weapon, nothing more. How can you hate someone for taking that from you?”

“I was more than a weapon! I was the Emperor’s Hand! I could hear him, no matter how far apart we were! He trusted me, and I failed him! That’s what I lost!”

Suddenly, those eyes were inches from her own. “Loss? Don’t talk to me about loss! You know nothing! But you will, because I am going to show you, you weakling!”

Mara’s mind filled with visions. Most of them were vague, faded memories of a life in the distant past. The pain she had caused, the pain she had received. Madness, a mind shattered by those that should have protected her. Fear. Hate. Betrayal. Finally, death, and drifting. Peace found in a barely remembered remnant from her childhood given form. Centuries of rest and a kind of freedom she had never had in life.

Then, a flare of power, and more pain. A corrupted use of the Force wrenching her from her peace. Destroying what she had come to love.

When Mara’s vision returned, the woman sneered at her. “Do not talk to me of your Emperor or your loss. I have lost everything, again, and it was his doing.”

“You’re from Alderaan.”

That odd tilt of the head, again. “No, I am not. But it was always important to me, and I have existed there for so long I remember little else. I knew the people, I knew the flow of life there. And there were a few in every generation that could hear me, would come to me and just talk. And now they are gone. Because of your Empire.”

“I remember, now. I visited you. I knew you. That’s why the dreams were familiar. That’s how you have sought me out.”

“Yes, and then your master drove me out, along with any other voice you might have heard. Filled you only with his own. He used you, for years. You owe him nothing. Certainly not a self-destructive hatred for one that would help you. Believe me, I know that feeling. You do not want it. I could not stop myself, I think you can.”

“I thought you couldn’t remember your life?”

“I don’t remember much, but I remember the feelings. I know the results. You won’t like them.”

Mara understood that it was true. Perhaps it was another of her hunches, but she was certain of it.

She also knew one thing more. “Vaylin. Your name is Vaylin.”

Vaylin smiled, a genuine smile this time. “And do you recognize it? Does my name have meaning for you?”

“I do not recognize it, but yes, your name has meaning for me.”

The last thing she saw in the darkness was that smile, and a softening of the eyes. The last thing she heard was, “Thank you.”

Mara Jade woke, finally. Her memories returned of what had happened. She knew Skywalker had been the one to save her. This time.

And that was fine. Perfectly fine.


End file.
